Disillusionment

Disillusionment is something that most of us will experience at some point in our lives. We can be affected by disillusionment when someone that we had previously admired turns out to be very flawed. This can affect us particularly when we are very young, when we are more likely to put people on a pedestal. If a sporting star we previously regarded as a hero is revealed as a cheat, for instance, the sense of disillusionment can become crushing in our childhood years.

Disillusionment is something most of us will experience at some point in our lives.

We can experience disillusionment regarding our success in life – or lack of it. This can be felt most deeply by people who work hard all their lives, and then realise that they’ve got little to show for it.

Sometimes we’ll become disillusioned at seeing someone who is an obnoxious human becoming very successful. That this may cause disillusionment, especially for people who value kindness and compassion highly, is understandable.

There may be instances when we believe in something, but our views then change over time. This could be something that happens regarding a political party we support. A sense of disillusionment can occur, however, when our views haven’t changed, but those of the political party we support have. The feeling of disillusionment is likely to be very strong if it’s a political party we have supported for decades – and the change in the party’s views is perceived as an attempt to gain more votes.

Being taken for granted can engender a feeling of disillusionment. This can happen to people who give up a lot of their time helping others, but who feel unappreciated. If this were to continue, there’d be a fair chance that they will become disillusioned.

Disillusionment can affect all aspects of our lives, and love is no different. A series of bad experiences, when a succession of partners have been unfaithful, can result in disillusionment with love in general. In some cases this won’t just be something that lasts for a few years, but for the rest of that person’s life.

To disillusion is also synonymous with to disabuse, in that one is brought out of misconception or misapprehension or out of a state of cognitive bias as to unveil a falsehood held by someone.